Should I have my car checked for poor fuel economy? Or are these numbers still ok?

**_Qwerty_** · November 29th, 2012 02:24 PM

ok pa nga yang FC nyo sir.. sa haba nang trapik na tinatakbo nyo..

**valacirca** · November 29th, 2012 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Manilablock

mag long drive ka, take your car to subic or batangas, bago ka pumasok ng expressway pa full-tank mo ung car mo (automatic hindi ung sagad).

Take note of the ODO reading, wag mag overspeed.

Then pag pauwi ka na shempre babalik ka dun sa gas station kung saan ka nag pa full-tank, preferably same pump, pa full-tank mo ulit, take note of your ODO.

ODO current less ODO previous = distance traveled

distance traveled / Last fuel full-tank = xx km/liters

pwede ka din mag download ng android free app (DriverDiary) to record your fuel consumption.

I did this once nung mga 1 week palang nasa akin yung sasakyan. We drove from Pasig to Nuvali and back.

Traffic from Pasig to SLEX, then syempre SLEX maluwag dire-diretso, around 80 to 100kph yung speed. Then moderate traffic ulit sa Sta Rosa.

We hit around 14-15km/L iirc. But I think I have to do it again to be concious of all the things you mentioned. Thanks!

**Retz** · November 29th, 2012 02:40 PM

walang magandang FC sa kalyeng matraffic.

**ericcanio** · November 30th, 2012 01:58 AM

When u reached the 5k mark ... you should try to test it in a long stretch.... meaning ibiyahe mo ng north or south expressway for a test ... Full tank mo, reset the km to zero .... at the end of the stretch pakarga k uli ng full tank ... for you to be able to measure how much you consumed against the km reading, thus you can get the real consumption per liter ..... i have done that in normal city driving & long stretch ..... establish your speed also and make sure the pressure of your tire is correct ... less pressure means more consumption also .....

**niky** · November 30th, 2012 02:48 AM

Originally Posted by fourtheboys96

kahit anu pang sasakyan basta natrapik at bukas ang makina, bababa ang fuel economy. remember pag naka idle ang sasakyan sa trapik, ang fuel economy niyan ay 0 km/liter.

That's why, when I'm sure I'm not going to move for the next thirty seconds or so, I turn off the engine.

Drove a Picanto the other week. From Laguna to Manila Hotel and back. 50-50 highway/city. Got stuck in heavy traffic as Hyundai was holding an event at the grandstand, took fifteen minutes to leave the Hotel (500 meters in fifteen minutes!) and spent another twenty minutes getting to Buendia. Just turned off the engine at each stoplight (thank goodness for light timers) and my combined average still reached 18.6 kml (checked via full tank method). And that's with doing 90 on the very hilly Skyway. Near as I can figure, I did around 13 kml in traffic. If I kept the engine idling at every stoplight, Id've only done 10-11 kml.

**vermicelli** · November 30th, 2012 10:24 AM

Brand new picanto starter cost Php7500 that is good for around 6000 "starts". That's Php1.25 per start.

10.5 km/l is around Php5/km at current gasoline price.

If you do 13km/l using "turn-off engine * more than 30sec traffic stop" you can go 2.5km further on one liter of fuel or save Php12.5 but make sure you don't do more than "10 starts" per liter perse otherwise the peso saved offsets the starter wear.

But hey this still does not account engine components and battery wear during "start" so the savings might be lower. I think it's not worth it plus I don't want a/c off discomfort.

**niky** · November 30th, 2012 10:45 AM

Do you have a source for the estimated life of the starter? Just curious.

And you need to clarify what kind of start. A "hot" start is different from a "warm" start is different from a "cold" start. There's a hell of a lot of wear from a cold start, but not so much from a hot start, since all the fluids are up to temperature and the engine is much easier to turn over.

Of course, you could avoid starter wear by parking nose down a hill every morning...

**Cyferion** · November 30th, 2012 12:31 PM

Wow! Seems like all Sedans are the same when it comes to traffic pero pag long high way drives dun lang nagiiba mga FC.

**vermicelli** · November 30th, 2012 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by niky

Do you have a source for the estimated life of the starter? Just curious.

And you need to clarify what kind of start. A "hot" start is different from a "warm" start is different from a "cold" start. There's a hell of a lot of wear from a cold start, but not so much from a hot start, since all the fluids are up to temperature and the engine is much easier to turn over.

Of course, you could avoid starter wear by parking nose down a hill every morning...

Hi Sir Niky

Sa internet ko lang nakuha yung estimated life info hehe.

The numbers may not be exact but for the starter and battery you basically take "life" out of it everytime you start the engine offsetting the savings in the first place. I do agree with the cold and hot start thingie though.

Plug-in actual numbers and we might arrived at a number of allowable "starts" per unit km of a particular vehicle at a particular route to still realize savings. Just a thought.

I know of at least a car from toyota (forgot the model) made to automatically turn-off engine at long idle and starts when go but these are built to have better engine starting mechanism to endure repetitive starts. It has alternator/motor combo to drive a/c compressor when engine is off (crank disengage via clutch pulley) and I think it also act as starter if I remember it right.

**dr. d** · November 30th, 2012 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by vermicelli

Brand new picanto starter cost Php7500 that is good for around 6000 "starts". That's Php1.25 per start.

10.5 km/l is around Php5/km at current gasoline price.

If you do 13km/l using "turn-off engine * more than 30sec traffic stop" you can go 2.5km further on one liter of fuel or save Php12.5 but make sure you don't do more than "10 starts" per liter perse otherwise the peso saved offsets the starter wear.

But hey this still does not account engine components and battery wear during "start" so the savings might be lower. I think it's not worth it plus I don't want a/c off discomfort.

there is usually a considerable amount of "fine print" in these studies.. criteria.. conditions.. etc.. conditions that we may not fulfil if we drive "ordinary".
and yes, i also turn off my engine if i estimate at least 1 minute of standstill.

so, how does this affect my car maintenance? well, my besta's starter brushes had to be replaced at 50,000 km.. and my 1997 sentra's starter is still untouched after 14 years..

but hey! starter repair is cheap! it's not about hi tech electronics. it's low tech copper windings and brute force solid metal. "por kilo", 'eka nga..

btw, in heavy traffic, all fuel efficiency bets are off! how can you compete with 0 km/li ?